1, 2, 3, 4 I love the Marine Corps!

San Diego, CA – December 22, 2009 – As the 2009 holiday season approached, WakeWorld.com, an online wakeboarding magazine, once again stepped forward to help out those that are less fortunate during the season of giving. Owner and editor, David Williams, kicked off the 5th Annual WakeWorld Toys For Tots Benefit Auction by putting a call out to the wakeboarding industry for donations of product. 2009 Was a record-breaking year as an overwhelming 100 products were eventually donated, ranging from 2010 wakeboards autographed by pro riders to one-of-a-kind and limited edition gear. We even had a boat involved in the auction from Tige Boats.

The plan was to enlist the help of wakesports companies by asking them to donate packages of gear to be sold to WakeWorld readers via online auctions. Despite the weak economy, the industry came through in a big way. The response was so overwhelming that we more than doubled the amount of money raised from last year. CWB Board Co. led the list of donations with 11 products donated, including several 2010 model boards and bindings, some of which were autographed by the pro riders themselves.

“It seems like every year I’m worried that this will be the year that our donations go down, but it never seems to happen,” said Williams. “How we went from 46 items donated in 2008 to 100 items donated in 2009 is beyond me, especially in this economy. I think it just goes to show how generous this industry is. And you can’t forget all the WakeWorld readers that bid on the auctions either. They’re the ones that came through with the dollars!”

When all was said and done, the proceeds generated from the auctions added up to over $13,000. That money was then donated to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program in the form of a truckload of new toys, including five BMX bikes, valued at just over $5,000, and a check for nearly $8,000. That brings the donation total to more than $34,000 over the five years WakeWorld has been doing the Toys For Tots benefit.

“It’s always a blast to take my kids shopping for the toys and delivering them to the Marine Corps,” exclaimed Williams. “They each get to fill up a basket with whatever they can fit into it, so we end up with a parade of over-stuffed baskets attracting stares as we roll through the store. This year we even had a chance to deliver the toys live on NBC during their new broadcast!” Video of the entire experience can be found at http://vimeo.com/8284024.

For information on next year’s auction or details on how your company can get involved, contact David Williams at gobig@wakeworld.com or 619-204-2885.

Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year and distributes those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders. For additional information, visit www.ToysForTots.org.